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William T. Woodson (July 16, 1917[citation needed] – February 22, 2017) was an American film, stage, radio and voice actor, best known for his narration of the radio series This is Your FBI, The Invaders, the animated series Super Friends and all its spin-offs, and the opening of The Odd Couple television series.
Bill Woodson | |
|---|---|
 Woodson in The Fast and the Furious (1954) | |
| Born | William T. Woodson July 16, 1917 |
| Died | February 22, 2017 (aged 99) |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1928–2010 |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 3 |
Biography
editStage career
editBefore becoming a professional actor, he acted in stock theatre for nearly a decade with his first appearance in a 1928 play.[1]
In 1943, Bill Woodson made his Broadway debut as Lowell Denton in Harriet, starring Helen Hayes. He showed versatility as a performer, proving himself equally capable in classical roles such as that of Montano in the Shubert Theatre's adaptation of William Shakespeare's Othello with Paul Robeson in the lead role. From 1946–47, the actor played, what is probably his best-known stage role, Le Bret opposite Jose Ferrer as the title character in Cyrano de Bergerac.
He also appeared as Tom Mackenzie in The Seven Year Itch, Stephen Douglas in The Rivalry and T. Stedman Harder in A Moon for the Misbegotten.
In 1947, he was among the first actors to be accepted to the first class of the newly formed Actors Studio.[2]
Radio career
editWoodson served as the narrator for the crime drama series This is Your FBI from 1948–53 on ABC radio.[3]
He also voiced multiple characters on episodes of several other radio programs such as Suspense, Inheritance and Family Theater.
Film and television career
editWoodson had a small live-action appearance in the 1953 sci-fi film The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, as a newscaster. Another on-screen role was as Sergeant Ed Blankey on the 1959–1960 drama television series This Man Dawson and as Major Dudley in 1960 in an episode of the situation comedy The Tom Ewell Show. In 1967, he became the narrator for The Invaders. In 1963–1964, he portrayed the ringmaster on the ABC drama The Greatest Show on Earth.[4]: 415 He also narrated for NFL Films.
In the 1970s, Woodson's television work included the opening narrative of The Odd Couple, the narration for the pilot of The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams, and a brief appearance on one episode of The Mary Tyler Moore Show. In 1977–1978, he was the voice of the sheriff on CB Bears on NBC.[4]
He was also a featured but un-credited voice-over announcer for WKRP In Cincinnati. It was his voice, inviting the audience to stay tuned for the epilogue for each episode. He also did a number of voice roles in several episodes, including the pre-recorded announcer of the intro to Les Nessman's newscasts.
In 1983, the actor served as the narrator for the miniseries adaptation of Herman Wouk's novel The Winds of War, and its sequel miniseries, War and Remembrance also based on the sequel novel. In this capacity, he would explain to the television audience the large-scale historical events that provide the context for the storylines of the two miniseries.
Super Friends and voice acting career
editWilliam Woodson's legacy will be his long association with the Super Friends series, where he served as narrator and sometimes voiced additional characters. He took over the role from Ted Knight, who coincidentally had played Ted Baxter, the man Woodson's character hoped to replace during his appearance on The Mary Tyler Moore Show.
Woodson narrated each subsequent Super Friends episode, narrating over 100 episodes, including the 7-minute short subject episodes produced from 1980 to 1983. Perhaps his most memorable line from the series was the often-used phrase that accompanied a transition to scenes at the Super Friends' headquarters: "Meanwhile, at the Hall of Justice..."
In a 2011 interview, he explained that his pronunciation of the word super as "syuper" rather than "sooper", which is more usual in the U.S., was due to the criticism of his speech he had received in high school. Wishing to sound more sophisticated, he patterned his speech after that of Ronald Colman.[1]
In addition, he also supplied the opening narration and voice for several characters on Battle of the Planets, as well as playing the sinister tanner in Walt Disney's The Small One. In 1981, he did the voice of J. Jonah Jameson in Spider-Man and that same year, he reprised the character on Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends, where he also played Namor the Submariner and Dr. Strange in the episode "7 Little Superheroes".
Woodson later guest-starred on Garfield and Friends, The Jetsons, Tiny Toon Adventures and Duckman and other shows.
Other acting work
editIn 1966, he played the Secretary of War in 3 episodes of F Troop.
He played the reporter in Stan Freberg's parody advertisement of Jacobsen Mowers, which were in actuality sheep grazing. In the satirical ad, he announced: "Jacobsen Mowers. Faster...than sheep!".
Bill Woodson was also the narrator of NFL Films' official films of Super Bowl II and he also narrated the 1967 NFL Championship Game, better known as the "Ice Bowl". The longtime voice of NFL Films, John Facenda, had been unavailable.
In 1994 Woodson was the voice of a television and radio advertising campaign celebrating the 30th anniversary of Pennsylvania-based Wawa convenience stores. The commercials humorously referenced 1964 events such as The Beatles' appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show and the introduction of the Ford Mustang. They were produced by Philadelphia ad agency Earle Palmer Brown & Spiro.
From 2004–2010, Woodson, a California resident, lent his austere deep voice to a series of humorous commercials promoting the Minnesota Twins. The ads had titles such as "The Minnesota Twins – Get to Know 'Em", "Every Fan Counts", and "This is Twins Territory". His voice can also be heard narrating in many Disney read-alongs.
Personal life
editIn 1959, Woodson married actress Darlene Conley. They divorced in 1966.[5]
Death
editHe died on February 22, 2017, at the age of 99.[6]
Filmography
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1948 | The Gallant Blade | Soldier | Uncredited |
| 1949 | Trapped | Narrator | Voice, Uncredited |
| 1951 | Three Guys Named Mike | Airline Announcer | Voice, Uncredited |
| 1952 | Red Skies of Montana | Opening Narrator | Voice, Uncredited |
| Assignment – Paris! | Narrator | Voice, Uncredited | |
| 1953 | The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms | Opening Narrator / Radio Announcer | Voice, Uncredited |
| Vice Squad | Dave | Uncredited | |
| 1954 | Playgirl | Drunk | Uncredited |
| The Miami Story | Narrator | Voice, Uncredited | |
| Pigs Is Pigs | Narrator[7] | Voice, Uncredited | |
| Down Three Dark Streets | Narrator / Prof. Wilson | Uncredited | |
| 1955 | The Fast and the Furious | Officer Samuels | Uncredited |
| New Orleans Uncensored | Off-Screen Narrator | Voice, Uncredited | |
| Cell 2455 Death Row | Opening Narrator | Voice, Uncredited | |
| The Night Holds Terror | Narrator | Uncredited | |
| It Came from Beneath the Sea | Opening Narrator | Voice, Uncredited | |
| 1956 | Inside Detroit | Narrator | Voice, Uncredited |
| Earth vs. the Flying Saucers | Narrator | Voice, Uncredited | |
| 1957 | Fear Strikes Out | Broadcaster | Voice, Uncredited |
| The Garment Jungle | Announcer | Uncredited | |
| 20 Million Miles to Earth | Opening Narrator | Voice, Uncredited | |
| 1959–1960 | This Man Dawson | Sergeant Ed Blankey | Regular cast, 31 episodes |
| 1960 | The Tom Ewell Show | Major Dudley | 1 episode |
| 1961 | Sea Hunt | Dr. John Gregory | 1 episode |
| 1963 | Leave it to Beaver | Mr. Gaines | 1 episode |
| 1965 | Synanon | Man at Open House | Uncredited |
| 1966 | Not with My Wife, You Don't! | Col. Wilson | Uncredited |
| 1968 | The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band | Henry White | Uncredited |
| 1969 | More Dead Than Alive | Warden | |
| 1971 | Escape from the Planet of the Apes | Naval Officer | |
| 1974 | The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams | Narrator | |
| 1976 | Tunnel Vision | Announcer | |
| 1981 | Rise and Fall of Idi Amin | Narrator | Uncredited |
| 1983 | The Winds of War | Narrator | |
| 1985 | Sesame Street Presents Follow That Bird | Trailer Announcer | Uncredited |
| 1988 | War and Remembrance | Narrator | |
| 1990 | The Bonfire of the Vanities | Gene Lopwitz | Voice |
| 1991 | The Rocketeer | Newsreel Announcer | Voice, Uncredited |
| The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear | TV Commercial Announcer |
References
edit- ^ a b "Super '70s and '80 "Super Friends" – Bill Woodson (narrator)". Noblemania.
- ^ Garfield, David (1980). "Birth of The Actors Studio: 1947–1950". A Player's Place: The Story of The Actors Studio. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc. p. 52. ISBN 0-02-542650-8.
Also [in Lewis' class were] Henry Barnard, Jay Barney, John Becher, Philip Bourneuf, Joan Chandler, Peter Cookson, Stephen Elliott, Robert Emhardt, Joy Geffen, William Hansen, Will Hare, Jane Hoffman, George Keane, Don Keefer, George Matthews, Peggy Meredith, Ty Perry, Margaret Phillips, David Pressman, William Prince, Elliot Reid, Frances Reid, Kurt Richards, Elizabeth Ross, Thelma Schnee, Joshua Shelley, Fed Stewart, John Straub, Michael Strong, John Sylvester, Julie Warren, Mary Welch, Lois Wheeler, and William Woodson.
- ^ Dunning, John (1998), On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio, Oxford University Press, pp. 667–668, ISBN 9780199840458
- ^ a b Terrace, Vincent (2011). Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010 (2nd ed.). Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. p. 170. ISBN 978-0-7864-6477-7.
- ^ "Bill Woodson, 99". Classic Images (506): 56. August 2017.
- ^ William Woodson – Aveleyman
- ^ Scott, Keith (3 October 2022). Cartoon Voices of the Golden Age, Vol. 2. BearManor Media.
External links
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